Safety envelope



E. F. NISSEN.

SAFETY ENVELOPE.

. APPLICATION FILED OCT. I8. I919.

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FIE 5 ET E EUGENE F. NISSEN,F ALAMEDA, GALTFORNIA.

SAFETY ENVELOPE.

Application filed October 18, 1919. Serial No. 331,520.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE F. Nrssnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Alameda, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Safety Envelopes, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to provide an envelope which will be practically impossible to open so as to remove the contents or part of the contents thereof, and close again without detection.

I am acquainted with, I believe, all the so-called safety envelopes at present in use for the transmission of bonds or other valuable documents, and on testing said safety envelopes, I have formd it possible to open all of them sufiiciently to extract the contents or part of the contents therefrom, and close the envelopes again so as to leave no trace of their having ever been opened. Such safety envelopes are in great demand for the transmission of Liberty Bonds and other bonds to Federal Reserve banks. In transmitting these bonds,

the number of the bonds is checked three.

times by the sender and three times by the receiver, but it occasionally happens that the checkings do not agree. One or more of the bonds are found missing by the re ceiver, who thereupon notifies the sender, but the sender assures the receiver that the list of bonds as sent is correct. The explanation is, that the envelope has been opened, and some of the bonds removed therefrom, and the envelope closed again in such a manner as not to leave any trace of its having been opened. This is done in the train or on the steamboat or in some other place in the course of transmission and the criminal takes care to remove only one or two bonds so that it will not be apparent that a theft has occurred.

The object of the present invention is to provide an envelope from which it will be impossible to remove any part of the contents without such removal being evident upon the arrival of the envelope at its destination.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a front view of a blank from which the envelope is formed, gummed and scored ready to be converted into an envelope; Figure 2 is a front view of the envelope complete but unsealed; Figure 3 is a front view of the envelope sealed.

Referring to'the drawing, 1 indicates a blank from which the envelope is formed. Said blank is formed with three parallel long scores 2, 3, and 4, and two parallel short side scores 6, the scores 2, 3 and 6 inclosing between them the back 7 of the envelope, and the scores 3, 4, and 6 inclosing between them the front side-8 of the envelope. Extending from the back side 7 beyond the scores 6, are the outer end flaps 9, formed with gummed margins 11, and extending beyond the front side 8 past the scores 6, are the inner end flaps 12 of a" less width than the outer end flaps, which fold over the scores 6, within the end flaps 9. Extending beyond the score 4 is a front flap 13 which is folded over the front along said score after the contents of the letter have been inserted, and extending beyond the score 2 is an outer flap 14 having a gummed margin 16, which is folded over on the score 2 as a last step in closing the envelope. P 1 1 To make the envelope from its blank, first, the front 8 is folded on the score 3 over the back 7. Then the marginal portions 11 are moistened and the flaps 12 and Specification of Letters Patent, Patntgd Feb, 21 1922,

9 are folded on the scores 6 over the front 7 center of the front 8, and the other two over the lower edges of the flaps 9 so as to extend partly over the flaps 9 and partly over the front 8. Next, eyelets 17 are fastened in the flap '14 near the extreme upper edge thereof in positions to be pene- I trated by pairs of tongues 19 forming parts of the clamps 18. The envelope" is now ready for use. i y

In sending bonds or other valuable documents in this envelope, the bonds are inserted in the envelope and then the front flap 13 is folded over the bonds or other documents therein, and then the outer flap 14 is folded down on the front side of the envelope and the prongs of the three fasteners are passed through the eyelets and are flattened out. The metallic fastening devices are only partly covered by the front or outer flaps, and circles 24 are marked upon said outer flap corresponding with the circular forn'i of the fastening devices lying thereunder. Upon these circular portions 24: of the outer flap, upon prongs 19 extending through the eyelets 17 and upon the'portions of the fee tening devices 18 not covered by the outer flap is deposited molten wax 23, which is impressed with a seal. extends partly over the outer portion of the outer flap and partly over the portions of the fastening devices, covering parts of the front 8 of the envelope and also covering parts of the end flaps 9 of the envelope.

The edges of said end flaps of the envelope partly covered by the fastening devices are made angular in form, so as to bring the terminal fastening devices, which are placed at said angular portions of the edges, as close as possible to the ends of the envelope, thereby reducing the length of the edge of the envelope which it is possible to raise by in-- troducing a thin knife blade or similar obvject between the gummed edge of the end of the envelope and the front of the envelope, thereby rendering the length of said edge that could be lifted too small to permit extracting with the fingers any contents of the envelope through the opening made by lifting said edge.

The prongs extending in a radial direction outwards from the fastening devices,

render itimpossible to cut around the fastening devices to obtain access to the contents of theenvelope and then cement the edge of the paper beneath the fastening devices to the paper from which it is cut.

When the wax seal is impressed upon the Said wax seal thus i front side.

fastening device, the prongs of said fastening device become embedded in the Wax of the seal and the wax of the seal becomes embedded in the eyelets, and, in consequence, it is not possible to raise the seal bodily with the flap 14 without breaking the seal.

The provision of a central fastening device and a wax seal impressed thereon shortens the length of the gummed edge of the fiap 1a which it is possible to raise by a thin blade and so extract the contents of the envelope through the opening thus. left by said raised edge. This is additionally prevented by the folding over of the flap 13 on the contents of the envelope.

The provision of the flaps 12 renders it additionally diflicult to obtain access to the interior of the envelope, as well as reinforcing the lower corners of the envelope against damage in transit.

I claim A safety envelope comprising a front side folded over a back side, end fiaps on the back,

side being folded over the frontside, clamps secured to the outside face of the end flaps and front side, a sealing flap on the back side extending over the front side and end flaps and partly covering said clamps, said sealing flap having eyelets therein and prongs on said clamps adapted to extend through said eyelets, said sealing flap having marked thereon, around said eyelets, a space for sealing wax and a wax seal applied to said space, covering the exposed part of the clamps and adhered to said end flaps, sealing flap and EUGENE r. NISSEN. 

